Boutique Condos Rise at Site of Former Polish Bakery in Greenpoint Overlooking McCarren Park

The site of a former Polish bakery at 585 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint has given way to construction on a mixed-use condo development designed by two noteworthy architects, and significant progress has been made on the building’s two six-story towers.

The building has topped out at its full height of six stories, and windows are going in on both ends. Balconies are taking shape on the rear portion, while the facade of the part facing Manhattan Avenue is shrouded in scaffolding.

View on Lorimer Street

The building, when complete, will consist of 14 condo units across the two towers. The design is modern and angular, with a strict black-and-white color scheme. Bold strokes of black outline the windows and the balconies; massing and surface patterns vary subtly across the two ends of the building.

The two towers are connected by an underground parking garage and, at ground level, by a landscaped courtyard. The units will be two- and three-bedrooms. With an average of 1,793 square feet per unit, according to DOB permits, they are likely to be large and luxurious.

Detail of the facade facing Manhattan Avenue

There will be four floor throughs and a top-story duplex in the west tower; the other tower will have two apartments per floor as well as a top-floor floor-through, the Schedule A shows.

There will also be 11 subterranean parking spaces, 22 bike storage spots, a rec room, 14 storage units, one cabana unit, and a roof terrace. Additionally, there will be retail space for one store.

The development sits on one lot at 585 Manhattan Avenue that goes all the way through the block to Lorimer Street. The Lorimer Street side of building overlooks McCarren Park.

Rendering via Chatham Development Company

The new two-tower development uses the address 868 Lorimer Street. Next door at 848 Lorimer Street is an unrelated development under construction.

In early 2015, the longtime owners of the property, the Swidzinski family, sold it for $4.7 million, as we reported at the time.

The buyer was listed as 868 Lorimer Project LLC. The property was previously home to the New Warsaw Bakery Company.

View from Lorimer Street

New building applications show Chatham Development Company as the developer on the project. The architect of record is Stephen B. Jacobs Group. Chatham Development Company has a number of developments on Long Island, and Stephen B. Jacobs Group is behind a few Brooklyn projects, including Williamsburg’s The Edge, one of the first and most recognizable skyscrapers to appear on the Williamsburg waterfront after the 2005 rezoning.

The building’s construction is a sign of a changing Greenpoint. The neighborhood, long a Polish enclave, has seen significant development in recent years following a 2005 waterfront rezoning.

A number of mainstays like the bakery have closed or been demolished for new developments. The surrounding blocks are busy with construction.

Most new construction in Brooklyn is rentals, but this building appears be one of several small condo buildings with better-than-average design rising in Greenpoint. On the waterfront at 160, 170 and 174 West Street, for example, are two condo complexes of 14 and 15 units, including one designed by Studio C with three-bedroom floor-throughs, Curbed recently noted.

Also rising on the waterfront is the sprawling Greenpoint Landing. It will bring 10 large buildings, some of them condos, and thousands of new residents to the area.